NW Iowa News

There were 1,290 white students enrolled in Palo Alto County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.3% less than the previous year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

Data showed that Palo Alto County welcomed 1,409 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, white students comprised 91.6% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 10 schools in the county, West Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 238 students.

Public school enrollment in Iowa remained relatively stable in the 2024-25 school year, with 480,665 students, a slight decrease of 0.63% compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, enrollment in accredited nonpublic schools grew by nearly 10%, reaching 39,356 students, up from 36,195. This increase was partially driven by the Students First Education Savings (ESA) program, with 27,866 students utilizing ESAs at nonpublic schools.

School Name	School District	% of white Students	white Students Count	Total School Enrollment
West Elementary School	Emmetsburg Comm	92.2%	238	258
Emmetsburg High School	Emmetsburg Comm	90.4%	217	240
Emmetsburg Middle School	Emmetsburg Comm	89.8%	202	225
West Bend-Mallard Elementary School	West Bend-Mallard Comm	92.4%	134	145
West Bend-Mallard High School	West Bend-Mallard Comm	94.3%	116	123
West Bend-Mallard Middle School	West Bend-Mallard Comm	90.7%	97	107
Graettinger-Terril High School	Graettinger-Terril Comm	93%	93	100
Ruthven-Ayrshire Elementary School	Ruthven-Ayrshire Comm	93.2%	68	73
Graettinger-Terril Middle School	Graettinger-Terril Comm	94.1%	64	68
Ruthven-Ayrshire High School	Ruthven-Ayrshire Comm	87.1%	61	70